Editing Cosmogony (section)

== Overview ==

=== Scientific theories ===
[[File:Universe expansion-en.svg|thumb|The [[Big Bang]] theory, which explains the Evolution of the Universe from a hot and dense state, is widely accepted by physicists.]]
In [[astronomy]], cosmogony is the study of the origin of particular astrophysical objects or systems, and is most commonly used in reference to the origin of the universe, the [[Solar System]], or the [[Earth–Moon system]].<ref name="DicAstro2" /><ref name="CosmoToday2" /> The prevalent [[physical cosmology|cosmological]] [[scientific theory|model]] of the early development of the [[universe]] is the [[Big Bang]] theory.<ref name="Wollack">{{Cite web |last=Wollack |first=Edward J. |date=10 December 2010 |title=Cosmology: The Study of the Universe |url=http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514230003/http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/ |archive-date=14 May 2011 |access-date=27 April 2011 |website=Universe 101: Big Bang Theory |publisher=[[NASA]]}}</ref>

[[Sean M. Carroll]], who specializes in [[Physical cosmology|theoretical cosmology]] and [[Field (physics)|field theory]], explains two competing explanations for the origins of the [[Gravitational singularity|singularity]], which is the center of a space in which a characteristic is limitless<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Carroll |first=Sean |date=28 April 2012 |title=A Universe from Nothing? |url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/04/28/a-universe-from-nothing/#.XMQHyM9KhmA |access-date=22 April 2019 |website=Science for the Curious |archive-date=10 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510012738/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2012/04/28/a-universe-from-nothing/#.XMQHyM9KhmA |url-status=dead }}</ref> (one example is the singularity of a [[black hole]], where [[gravity]] is the characteristic that becomes {{nowrap|limitless{{hsp}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}}}}infinite).

It is generally accepted that the universe began at a point of singularity. When the universe started to expand, the Big Bang occurred, which evidently began the universe{{citation_needed|date=May 2025}}. The other explanation, held by proponents such as [[Stephen Hawking]], asserts that time did not exist when it emerged along with the universe. This assertion implies that the universe does not have a beginning, as time did not exist "prior" to the universe. Hence, it is unclear whether properties such as space or time emerged with the singularity and the known universe.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Carroll |first1=Sean |title=Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity |last2=Carroll |first2=Sean M. |publisher=Pearson |year=2003}}</ref>{{clarify|date=March 2021 |reason=This paragraph is a hopeless muddle after the second sentence.}}

Despite the research, there is currently no theoretical model that explains the earliest moments of the universe's existence (during the [[Planck epoch]]) due to a lack of a testable theory of [[quantum gravity]]. Nevertheless, researchers of [[string theory]], its extensions (such as [[M-theory]]), and of [[loop quantum cosmology]], like [[Barton Zwiebach]] and Washington Taylor, have proposed solutions to assist in the explanation of the universe's earliest moments.<ref>{{Cite web |title=String Theory/Holography/Gravity |url=http://ctp.lns.mit.edu/research-strings.html |access-date=20 April 2019 |website=Center for Theoretical Physics}}</ref> Cosmogonists have only tentative theories for the early stages of the universe and its beginning. The proposed theoretical scenarios include [[string theory]], M-theory, the [[Hartle–Hawking state|Hartle–Hawking initial state]], [[emergent Universe]], [[String theory landscape|string landscape]], [[Inflation (cosmology)|cosmic inflation]], the [[Big Bang]], and the [[ekpyrotic universe]]. Some of these proposed scenarios, like the [[string theory]], are compatible, whereas others are not.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Becker |first1=Katrin |title=String Theory and M-Theory |last2=Becker |first2=Melanie |author-link2=Melanie Becker|last3=Schwartz |first3=John |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |location=Cambridge, UK}}</ref>

=== Mythology ===
{{Main|Creation myth}}
[[File:Sumerian creation myth.jpg|thumb|The [[Library of Ashurbanipal|Sumerian tablet]] containing parts of the [[Eridu Genesis]]]]

In mythology, [[Creation myth|creation]] or cosmogonic myths are narratives describing the beginning of the [[universe]] or [[cosmos]].

Some methods of the creation of the universe in mythology include:

* the will or action of a [[Deity|supreme being]] or beings, 
* the process of [[metamorphosis]], 
* the copulation of female and male [[Deity|deities]],
* from [[Chaos (cosmogony)|chaos]],
* or via a [[World egg|cosmic egg]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Long |first=Charles |title=Creation Myth |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/creation-myth#ref1239147 |access-date=20 April 2019 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}</ref>

Creation myths may be [[Etiological myth|etiological]], attempting to provide explanations for the origin of the universe. For instance, [[Eridu Genesis]], the oldest known creation myth, contains an account of the creation of the world in which the universe was created out of a primeval sea ([[Abzu]]).<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 July 1998 |title=Eridu Genesis Mesopotamia Epic |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Eridu-Genesis |access-date=30 April 2019 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Morris |first=Charles |date=1897 |title=The Primeval Ocean |journal=Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia |volume=49 |pages=12–17 |jstor=4062253}}</ref> Creation myths vary, but they may share similar [[Deity|deities]] or [[symbol]]s. For instance, the ruler of the gods in [[Greek mythology]], [[Zeus]], is similar to the ruler of the gods in [[Roman mythology]], [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last1=Thury |first1=Eva |title=Introduction to Mythology Contemporary Approaches to Classical and World Myths, 4th ed. |last2=Devinney |first2=Margaret |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2017 |location=Madison Avenue, New York |pages=4, 187}}</ref> Another example is the ruler of the gods in Tagalog mythology, [[Bathala]], who is similar to various rulers of certain pantheons within [[Philippine mythology]] such as the Bisaya's [[Philippine mythology|Kaptan]].<ref>Garverza, J. K. (2014). The Myths of the Philippines. University of the Philippines.</ref><ref>Jocano, F. L. (1969). Philippine Mythology. Quezon City: Capitol Publishing House Inc.</ref>

[[File:Serer cosmogony - representation of the universe.jpg| thumb| 
The representation of the Universe as rooted in Serer religion and Cosmogony]]